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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

Andy, we expect to begin an analysis of the Chopin Nocturne soon in the analysis thread. You might keep an eye out or you could stick it in out of sequence; Jeff is keen to start it soon so no-one's going to mind and I even plan on throwing out a performance of it when I'm familiar with my new DP, due to arrive soon.

And congrats for the getting the go ahead!

Good to know ... I will keep an eye out. I was looking over the first couple of measures and, even with the very first chord change it's clear we're not in Kansas any more!

Andy - Congrats on starting Chopin Nocturne op. 9 no. 2! That's a major goal for me, and I hope to start it before the end of the year.

I'm very proud of myself this week! I got home from Hawaii and was pleased to discover that the break actually helped my novice self -- I was able to clearly see my weakness. When I first sat down at the piano, I was a little clumsier than usual. This was good! It forced me to slow things down and really work on technique. After a couple days of this I feel my 4th and 5th fingers are much better than they were before I left. I also finished memorizing Mozart k545 1st mov. Now, I just need to polish it up(It needs alot!) I started the piece about 2 months ago, and now I can plunk through the whole thing at about 70bpm.

Cheryl, I am sorry to hear about your bad lesson. That is tough to take after a month without a lesson! Don't let the German Dances beat you. Your new teacher must be at the point in your training to take off the kid gloves. Next week will be better!

JimF - I love your motivational messages. There are certainly days we need them!

Andy - Congratulations on starting the Chopin Nocturne! It is such a beautiful one and is such fun to play. With what you have been playing lately it should be easy for you. Keep us posted on your progress.

I played at the practice rooms near the Conservatory today and was thoroughly intimidated. There are 5 rooms that are sound proofed, but you still hear the other pianists. All of the other rooms were occupied by conservatory students. Wow! Do I feel like a beginner! It was good experience though. I am sure (hope) the other pianists were not listening to my practice. Sometimes you just have to put yourself out there I guess.

Justjeff - good for you! Sometimes a break can be really good for us, even though we tend to never want to have them!

SwissMS - Thanks. It might sound funny, but I never thought he had the kid gloves on lol....He's MUCH more rigid than my previous teacher (but a welcome change) - and he always explains WHY he is insisting on something. I know that what I'm going through is making an important change in my playing, it is just frustrating to feel I'm going backwards in so many ways before I can go forward. Focus on those baby steps. Focus focus focus!

Were the pianos near the Conservatory nice ones? I can imagine it is a bit intimidating playing beside folks who are conservatory students! Good for you for giving it a try!

Well, the day is drawing to an end here... pleasant dreams folks!

_________________________ XVIII-XXXVISometimes I try to progress faster than I am ready for.SwissMsFollow your teacher's instructions and practice wisely/much, and you'll soon wonder how you ever found it hard. BobPicklePerformance anxiety: make it part of your daily routine and deal with it...Cope! zrtf90

You must be stoked. I'm listening to it now and remembering how it always brings a bit of a tear to my eye. So sweet it practically hurts.

Hopefully I will get there too some day. Can't wait to hear you play it.

Have a ball

Jim

This prompted me to go and listen too..... this really is soul-piercing, makes you melt music, isn't it?

I watched this video of Valentina Listisa, and I'm enchanted.One thing I notice though, is how high she raises her hands above the keys, and how much her fingers are stretched out straight, rather than down low, closer to the keys. I recognize that part of it is "showman-ship" - but I find it interesting that this "flying finger" syndrom is exactly what my teacher has me working to AVOID. (Please, don't think for a minute I'm putting myself anywhere near Ms. L, I'm just interested and observing and thinking ...hmmmmmm )

Enjoy the video, and maybe at one of our upcoming ABF recitals we'll hear Andy playing it for us!

_________________________ XVIII-XXXVISometimes I try to progress faster than I am ready for.SwissMsFollow your teacher's instructions and practice wisely/much, and you'll soon wonder how you ever found it hard. BobPicklePerformance anxiety: make it part of your daily routine and deal with it...Cope! zrtf90

Andy, good for you. It's a beautiful piece. It will be good for your relationship (lol) - this music always makes me cry and feel very romantic. K, I will stop it right here.

Cheryl - in regard to the flying hands of VL, her fingers always on the spot and in position before she actually strikes the keys. When there is a huge leap in notes, of course, you hands have to fly too but I think it's a little different from my finger flying into the keys. Because of this, I often miss it. And say "dammmmm!!" and all kinds of other stuff. My pianist friend showed it to me one time. She hold the full value of the note before the jump and then place the hand on the destination keys. It means you jump very very fast. Many inexperienced (like me) jump before the note completion and jump sloppy (slower than s/b) and wind up messing up the landing. The resulting sound is not good. Kinda surface scratchy and not beautiful. It might be that your teacher is trying to enforce you to play into the keys and playing out the full value of the notes. Of course I could be wrong. I was many times. No worries your finger jumping and hopping time will come.

_________________________
Solo - Rachmaninoff Elegie Op 3 #1, Schumann Op 12 Warum, Grillen and a few short pieces by various composersCollaboration - Concerto in C for Oboe and orchestra attributed to Haydn edited by Evelyn Rosewell and some duets

_________________________
Solo - Rachmaninoff Elegie Op 3 #1, Schumann Op 12 Warum, Grillen and a few short pieces by various composersCollaboration - Concerto in C for Oboe and orchestra attributed to Haydn edited by Evelyn Rosewell and some duets

MaryBee, what a delightful gift!!!! How original can you get! That's really something special.

FarmGirl - Yes, I think you're right about my teacher wanting me to develop more certainty and certainly more consistent accuracy - I was simply fascinated to see how she moved and that it was so different from what I expected to see. Good logic on your part!

_________________________ XVIII-XXXVISometimes I try to progress faster than I am ready for.SwissMsFollow your teacher's instructions and practice wisely/much, and you'll soon wonder how you ever found it hard. BobPicklePerformance anxiety: make it part of your daily routine and deal with it...Cope! zrtf90

Good for you Andy going for the Chopin nocturne. I'll look forward to the thread about it. I've worked on it at least twice but I never got it to be the musical and romantic sound that I was wanting...maybe third time is the charm.

Last June I used the practice rooms at the music school in Pittsburgh and I was so relieved that it was semester break and there were no other people using the rooms. That's funny isn't it that we're intimidated by the mere thought of their talent.

Peterws are you planning to do the Mendelssohn for the Theme recital? I'll look forward to it.

MaryBee the lamp is outstanding. What a creative idea and will no doubt be the starting point of many conversations as people realize what it is

That's what just kills me, I will play a piece before I go to lesson and play it perfectly then flub it at lesson. My biggie was I was wanting to show her my progress on the little Carulli Vivace piece. Well, the first 8 measures, both parts are played in the g clef then LH changes to the f clef @ 9,(and back again at 17 BTW) I failed to remember this and played happily along until my fingers crashed into each other suddenly neccessitating a huge LH leap to recover (which I blew) . This was near the end of my lesson so no time left for a replay. Played it through 5 times when I got home. And therein lies the crumbled cookies.

I watched this video of Valentina Listisa, and I'm enchanted.One thing I notice though, is how high she raises her hands above the keys, and how much her fingers are stretched out straight, rather than down low, closer to the keys. I recognize that part of it is "showman-ship" - but I find it interesting that this "flying finger" syndrom is exactly what my teacher has me working to AVOID. (Please, don't think for a minute I'm putting myself anywhere near Ms. L, I'm just interested and observing and thinking ...hmmmmmm )

Her technique doesn't get universal praise though I think it's fantastic. It's the flexibility that is just great, and the way she seems to caress the keys.

Here's the thing about flying fingers though - what do yours do when they fly up - probably stay there. Where-as she is completely relaxed - they go up, they go down, there are where they need to be.

the first 8 measures, both parts are played in the g clef then LH changes to the f clef @ 9,(and back again at 17 BTW) I failed to remember this and played happily along until my fingers crashed into each other suddenly neccessitating a huge LH leap to recover

And at home, under no pressure, you'd have immediately HEARD wrong notes and done something about it! The stress of playing for your teacher put you into unthinking panic mode, finger movements disconnected the actual music.

I'm not mocking. I've done it too. How do you get to focus on playing the MUSIC, rather on pressing the keys? I don't know. But it's great when it happens!

And at home, under no pressure, you'd have immediately HEARD wrong notes and done something about it! The stress of playing for your teacher put you into unthinking panic mode, finger movements disconnected the actual music.

Hmm,

This 'unthinking panic mode', I had all the time during lessons. When the teacher was in the room, I blocked. Always played with errors. That's why I didn't play for people in public.

Until last summer. I had a piece that I really wanted to play for people, because finally I knew how the piece should sound. My teacher had a recital for students. No warming up. And I played this piece at my highest level without any errors.

Since then I was very relaxed during lesson.

So what happened? The truth is, during recital I only worried about the right tempo and counting in my head (because of the adrenaline I tend to go a bit faster; I didn't want that). I prepared a few days before, by taking each measure again and played it slowly as if I just started to learn the piece.

Nowadays, I don't worry how I play in front of my teacher. I just want help with the problems I encounter. So I play.

I still don't know how my brains work though, but the 'unthinking panic mode' is gone.

Valentina Lisitsa is amazing to watch for her control and relaxation. She is so graceful. I loved the clip with her comments. Relaxation is so hard for me to learn and incorporate. I just want to push too much. I get my hands totally relaxed, and then I realize I am scrunching my toes on the trills. Like that really helps.

MaryBee - I love the lamps! What a wonderful gift. Your husband is very creative.

I watched this video of Valentina Listisa, and I'm enchanted.One thing I notice though, is how high she raises her hands above the keys, and how much her fingers are stretched out straight, rather than down low, closer to the keys. I recognize that part of it is "showman-ship"

I thought that too, until I saw this video of hers. Encore no4(!), für elise in Seoul:

Different fall notes and strokes. Some are high flying finger, and some are more round. Different shapes of falling. I think her flying finger is functional: intention in combination with leaps and time gaps.

Here another video where flying fingers are only used when functional:

MaryBee, those are just the coolest lamps! Very interesting to gaze at--mesmerizing!

Andy, bist wishes for the nocturne. I got the Alfred Masterwork Edition of Chopin: An Introduction to His Piano Works as a Christmas present from my DH (it was on my wish list). Most of it is aspirational for me (another way of saying it'll be a good long while before I can play it), but it came with a nice CD. We listened to it this afternoon while we made homemade raviolis.

With respect to Valentina Lisitsa's flying hands--I suspect she lets loose with the hands only because she first got controlled hands down to absolute perfection.

Not sure if this can be considered an achievement of the week, but my piano keyboard awareness has just increased tenfold (a figure I've plucked out of the air) purely by practicing my scales and arps with my eyes closed.Never thought that would be something I could do as I heavily rely on hand watching everything I play. Wonder whether this could be applied to playing pieces? Small but steady steps......

It's also been a revelation for me to be playing on a proper acoustic instead of my digital, I didn't think my love for piano could get any stronger but it really has, I'm even enjoying the scales etc, always felt like a chore on the DP.

I've also just finished reading 'Playing the Piano for Pleasure' by Charles Cooke, an amazing read which I recommend to anybody looking for practice ideas. I've never in my life made so many highlights, bookmarks and notes in a book as I have in this one, its really inspired the way I'm going to approach practice in the future, I'm seeing the benefits already.

I'm not sure if I can explain what my accomplishment even is--for one tricky measure in a piece, it seems as though I have suddenly gotten some sort of map in my mind of my little finger landing in the right place. I have no idea what to call this or really how to talk about it. It isn't quite consistent and I hope it doesn't go away!

We are having the snowstorm that keeps on giving!I'd rather stay at the piano or the forum, but I need to spend some more time with my shovel.

_________________________Ladies and Gentlemen: This is not a competition, merely an exhibition. No wagering please.

The feature makes it so a designated user's posts are no longer displayed. So if someone showed up and made weird and inappropriate comments you could block that user and not see those comments anymore.

The mods around here are pretty good at the long term solution to that sort of problem, but I was around on and off all day yesterday.

_________________________Ladies and Gentlemen: This is not a competition, merely an exhibition. No wagering please.

The feature makes it so a designated user's posts are no longer displayed. So if someone showed up and made weird and inappropriate comments you could block that user and not see those comments anymore.

The mods around here are pretty good at the long term solution to that sort of problem, but I was around on and off all day yesterday.

I think I know what you are talking about. I notified a mod when I saw what I thought was a very inappropriate user name, and then I reported several posts, and asked to have some of the removed. The mods are great - but I figure we have to help them and send up a red flag when we're concerned!!!

_________________________ XVIII-XXXVISometimes I try to progress faster than I am ready for.SwissMsFollow your teacher's instructions and practice wisely/much, and you'll soon wonder how you ever found it hard. BobPicklePerformance anxiety: make it part of your daily routine and deal with it...Cope! zrtf90

I know what u are talking about too. I thought it was very strange. Thanks for doing it. Next time I will do the same if I know it's inappropriate. I thought it was a strange name. Kinda like a back scratcher.

_________________________
Solo - Rachmaninoff Elegie Op 3 #1, Schumann Op 12 Warum, Grillen and a few short pieces by various composersCollaboration - Concerto in C for Oboe and orchestra attributed to Haydn edited by Evelyn Rosewell and some duets